1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of tethering devices, training devices, and safety restraint devices for animals, and more particularly to a tethering and restraint safety harness that holds a large equine or bovine animal in their natural upright position when being transported in a trailer, and may also be used as a training harness to maintain the animal in a stationary position.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Many people that own or raise horses for pleasure riding, parades, racing, polo, breeding, rodeo competition, and competition in horse shows, are very concerned for the care and safety of their animals. Many of these animals will be transported thousands of miles each year in horse trailers. Each year many of these animals are injured or killed during transportation in the trailer when moving from one location to another. Because of the high weight per unit area load, large equine or bovine animals can also suffer muscle and skin damage, as well as cuts and broken bones, as a result of being tossed about or falling down in the trailer during abrupt stops or collisions. When a horse is thrown down in a trailer, it will often kick and break the leg of a horse in an adjacent stall in its attempts to right itself.
When a large equine or bovine animal is transported inside a covered trailer, it is desirable to restrain the animal so as to prevent it from being tossed about in the trailer or falling during abrupt stops, collisions, or sudden swerving movements of the trailer. This will not only prevent injury to the animal itself, but will also protect the human passengers of the towing vehicle from injury, should the weight of the trailer suddenly shift. This weight shift is even more dangerous when several animals are being transported in a single trailer and can easily turn a trailer over.
It is also desirable, on many occasions, to hold an equine or bovine animal in a stationary position. For example, if such an animal is held stationary, a veterinarian could examine and/or administer medications much more easily and reduce the likelihood of injury to both the veterinarian and to the animals.
Another occasion when it is also desirable to hold such an animal in a stationary position is during the training of a young colt. When training a young colt to accept a saddle and then a rider, the colt will buck and often cause injury to themselves or to the trainer or rider. Holding a young colt in a stationary position also will prevent them from turning in circles and simplifies the tasks of saddling the animal, picking up their feet to clean the hooves, brushing their coat, trimming their ears, or using noisy implements close to them such as electric vacuum cleaners and shears.
Various safety harnesses are known, which restrain a small pet in a vehicle in different ways. There have been some attempts to provide restraints of one type or another for use in automotive vehicles to restrain the activity of dogs, cats, and other animals when carried in an automotive vehicle either on a seat or in the rear of pickup trucks. The devices heretofore attempted have normally consisted of leashes with hooks or the like which can be hooked to a portion of the vehicle, particularly to the bed of a pickup truck.
Reed et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,944 discloses an animal (dogs or horses etc) exercising, harness that has a strap encircling the chest of the animal and a pair of elastic straps that extend around a pulley attached to the chest harness to the rear feet of the animal. There is no second harness encircling the hindquarters, nor any provision for supporting or transporting the animal in their natural upright position in a trailer.
Murray, U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,198 discloses a harness for dogs or other animals that has a pair of straps encircling the body of the animal in two places between the front and rear legs and a chest strap with a built-in leash. The harness has a loop that can be used to attach it to a vehicle seat belt or to receive a strap mounted in the bed of a pickup truck. There is no strap extending around the rump of the animal, nor any provision for supporting or transporting the animal in their natural upright position in a trailer.
Luce, U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,991 discloses an animal safety harness that has a pair of straps encircling the neck and chest area of the animal and a chest strap connected therebetween. The harness has a series of loops that can be used to attach it to a vehicle seat belt or to receive a strap mounted in the bed of a pickup truck. There is no strap extending around the rump of the animal, nor any provision for supporting or transporting the animal in their natural upright position in a trailer.
Scott et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,203 discloses a pet safety harness which has a pair of straps encircling the body of the animal in two places between the front and rear legs, a chest strap, and a pair of straps extending rearwardly with buckles which can be attached to a special frame through which a vehicle seat belt passes. There is no strap extending around the rump of the animal, nor any provision for supporting or transporting the animal in their natural upright position in a trailer.
Brown et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,515 discloses an animal training and restraining harness which has a pair of straps encircling the body of the animal in two places between the front and rear legs, a chest strap, and a pair of straps extending forwardly to form loops to encircle the front legs. There is no strap extending around the rump of the animal, no means for attaching the harness to a vehicle, nor any provision for supporting or transporting the animal in their natural upright position in a trailer.
Ward, U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,187 discloses a multi-purpose animal harness which has three straps encircling the body between the front and rear legs and one strap encircling the body forward of the front legs and a leash connected to the top of the harness. There is no strap extending around the rump of the animal, nor any provision for supporting or transporting the animal in their natural upright position in a trailer.
Most of these harnesses are designed to encircle the body of the animal between the front and rear legs, some provide a chest strap, and some provide loops which can be used to attach the harness to a vehicle seat belt or to receive a strap mounted in the bed of a pickup truck. However, none of these would be particularly suitable for tethering, restraining, and transporting a large equine or bovine animal in their natural upright position in a trailer. None of these harness structures would substantially reduce the likelihood of the animal tripping or falling and prevent it from being tossed around in a trailer, and none would be capable of equally distributing the weight of the animal to a trailer support structure to maintain the load balanced between the wheels and prevent the weight of the trailer from shifting.
The present invention is distinguished over the prior art in general, and these patents in particular by a tethering and restraint safety harness for transporting a large equine or bovine animal in their natural upright position in a trailer. The harness has adjustable front and rear girt straps that encircle the front and rear parts of the animal immediately behind its front legs and just in front of its hind legs and an adjustable body strap that extends around the lateral sides, breast and buttocks of the animal. Front and rear pairs of tether straps connect the harness to eye bolts on the overhead support structure of the trailer to maintain the animal in a natural standing position. The harness substantially reduces the likelihood of the animal tripping or falling and from being tossed around in the trailer and injuring himself in the event of abrupt stops, sudden swerves, or a collision. If for any reason the animal does loose his footing, the weight of the animal will be supported and generally equally distributed to the trailer support structure to maintain the load balanced between the wheels and prevent the weight of the trailer from shifting or possibly wrecking, thereby reducing the likelihood of injury to the human passengers of the towing vehicle as well. The harness may also be used as a training harness by attaching one end of the tether straps to the front and rear girt straps and their free ends to a member anchored in the ground adjacent to the lateral sides of the animal to maintain the animal in a stationary position.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a tethering and restraint safety harness that holds a large equine or bovine animal in their natural upright position when being transported in a trailer.
It is another object of this invention to provide a tethering and restraint safety harness that substantially reduces the likelihood of a large equine or bovine animal tripping or falling down when being transported in a trailer.
Another object of this invention is to provide a tethering and restraint safety harness that substantially reduces the likelihood of a large equine or bovine animal being tossed about in the trailer or falling during abrupt stops, collisions, or sudden swerving movements of the trailer.
Another object of this invention is to provide a tethering and restraint safety harness that will support the weight of a large equine or bovine animal from the structure of the trailer in which it is being transported and equally distribute and maintain the load balanced between the trailer wheels to prevent the weight of the trailer from shifting in the event that the animal looses its footing, thereby reducing the likelihood of injury to the human passengers of the towing vehicle, which might otherwise occur should the weight of the trailer suddenly shift or overturn.
Another object of this invention is to provide a tethering and restraint safety harness having front and rear girt straps that encircle the front and rear parts of a large equine or bovine animal immediately behind its front legs and just in front of its hind legs and a body strap that extends around the lateral sides, breast and buttocks of the animal which can be easily and quickly positioned on the animal, adjusted and tightened by a single user standing on only one side of the animal.
A further object of this invention is to provide a tethering and restraint safety harness having front and rear girt straps that encircle the front and rear parts of an equine animal and a body strap that extends around the lateral sides, breast and buttocks of the animal, which may be used as a training harness by attaching one end of tether straps to the front and rear girt straps and their free ends to a member anchored in the ground adjacent to the lateral sides of the animal to maintain the animal in a stationary position.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a tethering and restraint safety harness for transporting large equine or bovine animal in a trailer which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use, and rugged and reliable in use.
Other objects of the invention will become apparent from time to time throughout the specification and claims as hereinafter related.
The above noted objects and other objects of the invention are accomplished by a tethering and restraint safety harness for transporting a large equine or bovine animal in their natural upright position in a trailer. The harness has adjustable front and rear girt straps that encircle the front and rear parts of the animal immediately behind its front legs and just in front of its hind legs and an adjustable body strap that extends around the lateral sides, breast and buttocks of the animal. Front and rear pairs of tether straps connect the harness to eye bolts on the overhead support structure of the trailer to maintain the animal in a natural standing position. The harness substantially reduces the likelihood of the animal tripping or falling and from being tossed around in the trailer and injuring himself, or an adjacent animal, in the event of abrupt stops, sudden swerves, or a collision. If for any reason the animal does loose his footing, the weight of the animal will be supported and generally equally distributed to the trailer support structure to maintain the load balanced between the wheels and prevent the weight of the trailer from shifting, thereby reducing the likelihood of injury to the human passengers of the towing vehicle as well. The harness may also be used as a training harness by attaching one end of the tether straps to the front and rear girt straps and their free ends to a member anchored in the ground adjacent to the lateral sides of the animal to maintain the animal in a stationary position.